Ryan visited ailing wife in hospital

January 07, 2011

Former Gov. George Ryan was allowed to leave his prison cell and visit his ailing wife in her hospital for two hours Wednesday evening, prosecutors said today in a motion in which they opposed his release on bail.

The visit came on the same day Ryan's lawyers had filed a bail motion for Ryan. In making that motion, they said Lura Lynn Ryan had only weeks to live.

The disclosure of the visit came in a court filing by prosecutors responding to Ryan's motion.

Prosecutors argued the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit should reject Ryan's request because he "has not shown that his appeal is likely to succeed."

They also contended that Ryan's circumstances were not "exceptional," and while the government "does not dispute that Mrs. Ryan's medical condition is grave" and "truly unfortunate," that situation does not warrant special treatment.

Prosecutors then pointed out that the U.S. Bureau of Prisons "granted Ryan an escorted trip" from the federal prison in Terre Haute, Ind., to Riverside Medical Center, the Kankakee hospital where his wife is being treated.

Ryan visited for about two hours between 7:30 p.m. and 9:40 p.m., they said.

"Thus, through normal prison procedures, Ryan has been able to visit with his wife," the government said. "The district court correctly determined that Ryan should not receive treatment that other defendants would not receive based on his wife's medical condition."

Ryan's lawyers fired back early this afternoon with a filing to the appeals court in which they termed as "shabby behavior" the government's decision to disclose the former governor's hospital visit with his wife and also said the government was using it a "weapon to deny Ryan's request for bail.''

Ryan's attorneys also accused the government of violating the Bureau of Prisons policy by releasing the information.

While the Bureau of Prison does not discuss details of specific inmate releases with the media, they are not "precluded'' from discussing it with the U.S. Attorney's office, said Traci Billingsley, a spokeswoman for the bureau. Billingsley also said that there was no reason the government could not release the information.

The defense also contended in its latest filing that Ryan has presented "substantial'' issues for review as he challenges his conviction and that failing to release him as these legal issues are considered could mean that "justice will have come too late for Lura Lynn Ryan."

Ryan's lawyer, former Gov. Jim Thompson could not be reached for comment.